‘How I Met Your Mother’ Series Finale Deleted Scene: Alyson Hannigan Reveals Cut Funeral
Time hasn't done very much to heal the sting of 'How I Met Your Mother''s series finale ending "Last Forever," which ended up confirming some of the fans' worst fears about the series' mythology, and quickly blew past the mother of it namesake. We've heard before about a few scenes cut for time, but series star Alyson Hannigan revealed one brief, but important snippet that may have gone a long way toward placating those upset by the ending.
Speaking to TVLine, Hannigan revealed that among the many moments cut from the episode for time, and you're warned of major spoilers (::salutes Major Spoilers::) for the finale here, included a funeral scene for Tracy McConnell-Mosby (Cristin Milioti) that would have seen Ted grieving at least once before resuming his relationship with Robin. Instead, we were only shown the titular mother in a hospital, before Ted's kids deduced he was telling the long-winded tale to gain their approval to date their "aunt."
Honestly, if you saw [that] cut, it would be even more heart-wrenching than what the finale was. They were like, ‘No. It’s just too gut-wrenching.’ And I was like, ‘That’s what I want. I want my heart ripped out and slammed on the floor and, like, stomped on!’
[The funeral] would have been better for the audience, so that then they can process, ‘Oh, [Ted] mourned. He got closure’ — and then they’d be happy that [he and Robin] got together. Rather than be like, ‘Oh, wait. She died? What? They’re together, huh?’ And credits. That’s what I think was too fast.
Of course, we know that the series creators will present a "happier" ending as an alternative on the final season DVD, but whether or not it affects any of the perceived missteps remains to be seen. What do you think? Would the 'How I Met Your Mother' finale have been any more palatable if we saw Ted mourning his lost love before getting back together with Robin?